Prop. 32 defeat latest battle for organized labor (Analysis)

For now, California’s organized labor groups can take a deep breath and assess their California landscape.

Voters rejected Prop. 32 in a convincing victory Tuesday – a measure that would have had huge implication for California’s unions. About 56 percent of California voters said no to the measure.

Prop. 32 would have prohibited both labor unions and private corporations from making direct salary contributions to support political candidates or ballot measures. But with a heavy focus on the elimination of payroll deductions, analysts contend that the measure equates to an attack on unions, which rely almost exclusively on member contributions to fund their political campaigns.

As it stands, the Prop. 32 battle was epic. It featured unions against corporations; Fights about “special interests” and “out-of-town billionaires.” And both sides said they were working to protect the middle class.

Both sides also committed major resources in order to win. Millions of dollars were spent; 1,000 tweets were sent out; and celebrities were dispatched to declare their thoughts on the issue.

This election year, in perhaps the most expensive campaign for the California 2012 election, had both sides spending more than $60 million. The pro-Prop 32 side rolled out a seemingly endless string of commercials, using all of the media platforms. Unions also were commercial happy and many groups had volunteer members hitting the streets and working the phone bank to talk to prospective voters.